Free Fonts: Threat, or Menace?

Free fonts are often feared or viewed with suspicion by those with a strong stake in the world of commercial fonts. Google Web Fonts and the available selection of libre and gratis fonts have grown dramatically in the past several years. What is the impact of these developments on end users, type designers, foundries, distributors, the business of type, and the typographic scene as a whole? How might it differ in the short term vs the long term?